MELAKA: It is work as usual for caretaker chief minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali (pic) despite him having no state executive councillors to delegate tasks to.

       On Wednesday, he attended the Covid-19 special committee virtual meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob along with other mentris besar and chief ministers.

       “I am carrying out my duties as usual,” he said when contacted yesterday.

       Government departments and agencies at the state’s administration hub Seri Negeri were also functioning as usual, he added.

       Sulaiman, who is Lendu assemblyman, was appointed caretaker chief minister after the Pakatan Harapan/Umno-led government collapsed when four assemblymen withdrew their support for him.

       Political observer Micheal Ching Jenn Aun said the Melaka state constitution states that the Yang di-Pertua Negeri has the discretion to appoint a caretaker chief minister between the dissolution of one legislative assembly and the convening of the next.

       “A caretaker chief minister is needed in the present Melaka situation,” he said.

       He added that the caretaker chief minister, however, was not empowered to craft any long-term policies.